Summary
The University of Zurich is calling on the city and canton to create more affordable housing for students. Increasingly, students cannot afford apartments in Zurich and are relocating to the conurbation, Winterthur, or Aargau canton. The city argues that it has built over 1,000 apartments since 2010; the canton points to a 720-million-franc potential from recently approved housing construction subsidies. Nevertheless, demand for affordable apartments remains significantly higher than supply.
People
- Claudia Nägeli (Spokesperson, Finance Department, City of Zurich)
Topics
- Student housing
- Housing shortage in Zurich
- Housing construction subsidies
- University infrastructure
Clarus Lead
The Rector of the University of Zurich has called on the city and canton to create more housing for students. The reason: Affordable apartments are in short supply, and many students are relocating to the conurbation. For decision-makers, the question of location attractiveness is relevant: without adequate housing, the University of Zurich loses competitiveness. The city has already invested, and the canton argues with new financing means – but both are partly shifting responsibility.
Detailed Summary
Since 2010, the City of Zurich has created over 1,000 apartments for students through financial support of housing cooperatives. Many students benefit from municipal properties with low rents that are accessible for non-profit housing. Nevertheless, demand for affordable apartments remains significantly higher than supply. The city attributes this to scarce land resources and extremely high real estate prices. Even interest-free youth housing loans – loans for student housing cooperatives – were long not fully utilized because organizations simply could not find affordable properties.
The city criticizes that the canton, despite its role as the bearer of the university and polytechnics, is doing too little. The canton, however, points to funds already provided from the lottery fund and to the cantonal housing construction subsidies approved in November, which create a potential of 720 million francs through co-financing. Specific construction projects have not yet been named. Currently, students increasingly live scattered throughout the conurbation, Winterthur, and Aargau canton – a problem for the attractiveness of Zurich as a study location.
Key Messages
- Demand significantly exceeds supply: Despite 1,000 newly built apartments since 2010, many students can no longer afford to live in Zurich.
- Responsibility disputed: City and canton shift the burden to each other; both argue with existing investments.
- Structural obstacles: Inadequate land resources and prohibitively high real estate prices complicate new construction.
- Decentralization as a consequence: Students increasingly relocate to the conurbation and neighboring cantons.
Critical Questions
Evidence/Data quality: How precisely was the needs analysis conducted? Which student population can still afford Zurich – and at what rent level does it become critical?
Supply data quality: The city mentions 1,000 apartments since 2010 – are these net new constructions or also conversions? How many of them are still subject to occupancy restrictions?
Conflicts of interest: What role do private investors and property owners play in price setting? Are there incentives for the city to release land rather than retain it?
Causality: Is the housing shortage primarily a matter of quantity or price stability? Would more apartments automatically lead to lower rents?
Alternatives: Why are models such as long-term leasehold, building rights, or cooperative models not more frequently cited? Are these unpopular or technically unfeasible?
Canton implementation: The 720-million-franc commitment – how concrete is this? What timeline do initial projects follow?
Side effects: Would massive new construction lower rental prices, or would it lead to displacement of other population groups?
Governance: Who coordinates between city and canton? Is there a shared target framework for student housing by 2030?
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Sources
Primary Source: Regionaljournal Zürich Schaffhausen (SRF) – 09.02.2026 – Audio Podcast
Verification Status: ✓ 09.02.2026
This text was created with the support of an AI model. Editorial responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-checking: 09.02.2026